


Prank Wars and Chamomile

by komet_grds



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Cliche, Coming of Age, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Gardening, Good Slytherins, Gryffindor/Hufflepuff Inter-House Relationships, Hufflepuff, Hufflepuff & Ravenclaw Inter-House Friendships, Hufflepuff/Slytherin Inter-House Relationships, M/M, Slytherin, Slytherin & Hufflepuff Siblings, Tea, implications of anxiety disorder, shy George Weasley, weasley twin bashing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:55:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 17,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27302278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/komet_grds/pseuds/komet_grds
Summary: Frieda Anthemis is a year five Hufflepuff at Hogwarts. Even though her house would suggest otherwise, she is neither very outgoing nor does she have a lot of friends. What she has is a ton of anxiety and two best friends. One of these best friends is at war with the Weasley twins making them the worst enemies. And when somebody is enemies with Frieda‘s best friend that makes them her enemy as well. But what will happen when said enemies take an interest in the shy insecure Hufflepuff?
Relationships: Angelina Johnson/Fred Weasley, Cedric Diggory/Cho Chang, Cho Chang/Cedric Diggory, George Weasley/Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, so this is my first work here and I am generally a bit inexperienced when it comes to fanfictions so maybe a few disclaimers:  
> English is not my first language and I‘m mainly writing this to get a bit better at it. So sorry for any errors!  
> Also this is mainly a coming of age story in a magical setting so the general plot of Harry Potter won’t really play a big role in this.  
> I hope you enjoy this. Have a nice day!
> 
> I also have a playlist  
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4J5X2K0uBEOgTrACn86Uf5?si=xllnT1h6TwaODxNonuYGpg

Frieda Anthemis was a normal student. At least that was what one would have thought seeing her standing between 9th and 10th platform at King's Cross Trainstation in London. She and her brother Emil just arrived there from Bath. Now they just stood there waiting for their parents. 

It was the first of September and the two were about to start their school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Yes, you read that correctly. The Anthemis siblings were not ordinary teenagers, they were witch and wizard inheriting their abilities from their mother. 

If you looked at the family you would definately notice that something was off with them.  
Agathe Anthemis, the mum of Emil and Frieda who walked down the platform just now, caught some looks from the other passengers with her long black hair and dark makeup. She was very tall and conventionally good looking. Her fashion style was also out of the ordinary. If you did not know that she was a witch, you would have thought she was a Goth or something like that. 

Emil came a lot after his mother. He was a sixteen year old, 1,86m, slender boy with sharp facial features. The misterious wizard had brown eyes and a black buzz cut and he wore a long black coat. 

His fifteen year old sister Frieda was short and chubby with longer, almost curly, honey blonde hair and blue eyes. Out of the three she looked the most normal. Even her clothing was different from her family's. She had wide blue jeans and yellow bluse with a comfortable jacket on top. 

In a sense she was more like her father, Maximilian, who was not a wizard but an accountant from Germany where the family was originally from. Agathe met Maximilan there and they imediately fell in love. When Emil turned eight all of them moved to England for the father's job. 

Speaking of the father: He walked right behind Agathe, apologizing to the people she bumped into.  
"Emil, Frieda, where are you?," Agathe shouted across the station. Emil just waved her over and the family united. "Are you sure you've packed everything?" "Sure mum. And if not, there is not much we could do about it now, can we?," the older sibling answered. "Don't be rude to your mother," Maximilan scolded his son who just stopped talking all together. 

"Okay, so if you're all ready now, you two know what to do." Emil and Frieda looked at each other. Frieda nodded in her older brother's direction and he started running towards the pillar between platform nine and ten followed by his sister. They never said goodbye, it was a tradition so they would not get too attached. 

The two came out at platform 9 3/4. It was the platform their train, called the Hogwarts Express, would depart from. Frieda looked around. "I'm going to look for my friends now. Good luck this year," she said with a grin. "You too! And don't forget what mum told you about Quidditch." The younger sibling rolled her eyes, waved and went on the train. 

It was her 5th year at Hogwarts so she already knew most people. She walked past the compartments looking into each one in order to find her friends. Frieda did not have many friends. Despite being in Hufflepuff she always considered herself an introvert and even though she was acquainted with quite a lot of students, she only managed to get closer to two people, Ollie and Evie. 

The two of them were already seated in one of the compartments awaiting their best friend. Ollie was the first one to stand up and say hello. He pulled Frieda into a hug. "Hi, I missed you! How was your summer? It's so great to see you again." Frieda smiled fondly at the tall boy. He was a year six Hufflepuff and one of the best looking guys in their house. "My summer was great besides my mum bugging me about playing Quidditch all the time and telling me how amazing my brother is. How about yours?" "Mine was alright. I didn't really get to see my mum but instead my dad took me on all these trips. That was kinda cool I guess."

When Ollie was finished a loud cough came from the corner. "Ahem, I am also here, thanks my summer was good, too," Evie began grouching. Frieda laughed and started hugging her as well. "I missed you so much, you have no idea."  
Evie was a 5th year Ravenclaw girl. She was one of the best seekers Hogwarts had ever seen but her parents were not too proud of that since her marks were not as good as the ones of her older sisters. 

Evie and Frieda only met each other in their 3rd year because of a coincidence. The Ravenclaw fell victim to a Weasley prank and got stuck to the floor. Because she did not know how to make it stop she was running late to class. That was the state Frieda found her in. She knew the spell to free her out of her misery. It turned out that the two got along rather well and so they became best friends over time. 

An hour after the three friends settled in and caught up with each other, they started talking about their upcoming year. "I swear to Merlin, if something crazy happens this year I am going to drop out of school. I mean it. Ever since that Potter kid came here things went downhill," Evie expressed. "Oh, give that poor boy a break. He can't help that he is the chosen one," Ollie laughed forming quotation marks around 'the chosen one'. Frieda was not too amused about her friends making fun of Harry Potter so she switched the topic. 

"I just hope I am going to make it through this year. You know with the O.W.L.s coming up things will probably be pretty stressful." "Oh please. You're the last one to stress about that. You scored top marks last year, didn't you?," Ollie said. "Well yes, but that isn't the point here. I still need to study so I will score these top marks again. You know how my mother is. If I don't get into the Quidditch team, which realistically isn't going to happen, I need something else to keep her satisfied."

Evie's eyes widened at the mention of Quidditch. "You're not actually trying out, are you?" "I don't know yet. I mean, I can try. Doesn't mean I have to put much effort into it." "And imagine how cool it would be if you actually made it and we were on the same team together." "Yeah, loads of fun," Frieda tried to sounding enthusiastically but failed. 

Arriving at Hogwarts, Frieda and Ollie made their way to the Hufflepuff table. In their house they only had each other as friends. The nature of the others was to be outgoing. They flocked but without including the duo that was less the type to go out of their way to talk to strangers. It was not like they were not well liked, it was more like they chose to stay on their own. 

Sitting down they noticed a commotion coming from the Ravenclaw table. "This is it! I'm going to kill you two!," Evie was screaming. Frieda stood up to have a better view at the scene. Her best friend was covered in a dark brown goo looking angrily over to the Gryffindor table where two red heads were snickering. 

The Weasley twins were in their 6th year at Hogwarts and their 2nd year of prank war with Evie Nadir. Ever since she got stuck to the floor the three were arc enemies, relentlessly pulling pranks at each other. Frieda was required to also not like Fred and George which was not hard considering what they had done to her best friend. 

She stood up and went to help her. "Let's go to the restrooms real quick," she said dragging the brown haired girl with her. "Those two are gonna ruin my whole time at this school. What even is that?" Evie began trying to rub the substance off of her arms. "I think it's mud. But I'm not 100% sure. Here take this." Frieda handed her a wet cloth to get rid of it. "Thanks."

When the two were finished they came back to the great hall. "What was that all about?," Ollie asked couriously. "Fred and George covered Evie in mud. Just the usual, really. What did I miss?" Ollie's eyes widened. 

"You won't believe it. Dumbledore just announced the Triwizard Tournament." "The what now?" "The Triwizard Tournament. A student from Durmstrang, Beaubatons and Hogwarts will be chosen to take part in a competition where they have to solve three tasks. It's really dangerous though. And the winner will get 1000 Galleons, a cup and eternal glory."

Frieda looked around and really, there were several students she had never seen before. One group was dressed in beautiful light blue uniforms and the other in brown and gray furry ones. 

"And let me guess, you are going to participate." Ollie grinned. "It's not that easy. First of all, you have to be of age. And secondly you have to put your name into the Goblet of Fire and it will chose who's gonna be a champion." "Okay, so you're putting your name in it?" "Correct."


	2. You and your tea

It was the first day of classes and Evie's and Frieda's started off with Potions. The two were stood in front of the classroom. 

"You're my best friend, right?" Frieda nodded at Evie's question wondering where this was going. "So you would do anything for me?" Frieda nodded again. "Okay then I would kindly ask you to kill me right now," Evie said calmly. Her friend rolled her eyes. 

"You know it's a bit early to die already. I'd say give it about three more weeks and then we'll see." She always tried to lighten the mood even though she was not in the right temper to joke around at all. Snape terrified her quite a lot. 

She heard many rumors regarding the Professor from her brother before she started school and they all turned out to be true. Even though Frieda was not a bad student by any means, Potions was the one class she was not the best at. 

Frieda held a mug in her hand drinking from it from time to time. "You and your tea. What's so special about it that you're always drinking it?" "It calms my nerves, you know. You've had it once and it helped, right?" 

Evie shrugged and the two entered the classroom.

In class, Evie and Frieda set down next to each other. They both hated it so they made the most out of it. Snape entered the room and started off by saying how hard the upcoming year was going to be. 

The O.W.L.s would determine what the students would be doing in a few years. They will also find out what perspectives career wise they will have. Frieda did not know what she was going to do in the future. She loved the wizarding world, she really did. But on the other hand her dad was always way safer than them. What if she would just seek for a Muggle job?

Or she could become a gardener. She had her own secret greenhouse in Hogwarts where she planted her life saver chamomile. Nobody there knew since she put a spell on it in order to make it invisible. Only her brother Emil knew about it. 

The class went on and it was relatively easy. They learned about the Invigoration Draught Potion and its energizing effects. It was not that hard to brew even though Snape made it seem like that was the case. Frieda and Evie did it together and succeeded. 

After class Emil approached his younger sister. "Mum sent me an owl. She said that I should look after you a bit so you would go to Quidditch tryouts." Frieda stared at him for a bit before realizing he was being serious.

"Are you for real? I can look after myself just fine. Thank you." "Well, I'm not so sure about that. You haven't done it the last few years either even though mum has told you to do so. And now she's just making sure that you hold your promise."

"Why can't you two just accept that I am not like you? And you? You are always on mum's side. Have you considered that I'm not interested in your little game? I'd rather keep my marks up this year." Emil looked a bit disappointed. Was he sad? Frieda shook that thought off. He tried to be controlling again and she was not going to let that happen. 

"Look, I just wanted to help you. Mum is really angry that you won't even try to integrate yourself into the family." "Yeah, whatever. I was actually going to try out this year but now you honestly rid me of any interest I had left." 

And with that Emil turned around without saying something. But before Frieda could make a peace offering something struck them and they were both on the floor. Emil looked back at his sister and shook his head. Did he really think it was her who casted that spell? 

"Frieda Anthemis! Your own brother, really? Detention!," Snape called from the classroom. "But that wasn't me." "Do you see anybody else in this hallway?" She shook her head still sitting on the floor. 

She turned around looking for the source of the hexing. She didn't have to wait long when two ginger boys came around the corner. The Weasley twins. Of course.

"Oh no. Did the little Hufflepuff girl get detention? Why did you prank your brother?," Fred exclaimed putting on an innocent face."Well, I clearly didn't. But I know certain twins who in fact just made me and my brother fall to the floor." They chuckled. "You know, you could be a bit nicer to us. Remember yesterday, when we covered your friend in..." George hit his brother's arm before he could finish his sentence. What in the world did they put on Evie? 

"You know what? It's okay. I'm just gonna take the detention. It's probably the only I will ever get," Frieda shrugged. The twins looked at each other confused. "Whatever woman. Come on Georgie. We have classes to attend." Fred turned around but George stayed to offer Frieda a hand mouthing "Sorry.". She gratefully took it and finally stood up from the floor.


	3. Frankly, Evie hates you

It was lunchtime and Ollie Knight and Frieda Anthemis were sitting next to each other at the Hufflepuff table. "Hold on. You got a detention?," the older boy asked in disbelieve. "Well yes. But it wasn't my fault. See, Fred and George..." 

"Oh not them again! What did they do this time?," a familiar voice called out. It was Evie who just came back from her own table. Frieda rolled her eyes. "Long story short: They pranked me and my brother and Snape thought it was me and now I have to go to detention. Yay!"

The brown haired girl in front of her couldn’t believe her ears. "They what now? This is going way too far! It‘s one thing when they mess with me. But when they mess with precious little Frieda over here that‘s a whole other story." Evie’s golden brown eyes almost flickered.

"Hey, what about me?", Ollie exclaimed. "You can look after yourself just fine. But look at her. She’s almost as helpless as Longbottom.“ "Longbottom‘s not helpless. I actually think he‘s kind of brave." 

Her two friends looked at Frieda weirdly before Evie went on "Yeah whatever. So do we have a plan for revenge? Oh I know. How about..." "Evie no," Frieda interrupted. "But why not? It’s gonna be so much fun." And with that the trio heard the sound of steps behind them. 

"Fun? Sounds like we’re just in time George." It was the twins approaching them. "What do you want?," Evie hissed at them while her and Ollie positioned themselves protectively in front of Frieda. They always felt the need of protecting her even though she was fully capable of doing so herself. She just did not like it. 

"We were actually here to make your little friend over there an offer." Fred pointed at Frieda who softly pushed her friends aside. "What offer?," she asked raising one eyebrow. When nobody answered, Fred gave George a nudge so he would react. "Erm...we...Fred and I would like to help you with whatever task you‘ll be getting for detention."

"And what do you have to gain from that?," Evie fell in. "Don‘t rush us," Fred grinned "In return you‘re not gonna get revenge and you‘re not gonna tell anyone that it was us." "But I wasn’t..." "She wasn’t going to deny you that offer. That’s what you wanted to say, right Frieda?," Ollie tried to hinder her from making a mistake. 

She just nodded as she realized what she almost did. "Alright then. Let us know when we should be there," Fred said and the twins turned around and left. "Well that was...interesting," Ollie shrugged and continued eating his lunch. 

It was the night of the detention. Snape already awaited Frieda in front of the kitchen. Earlier that day she was looking for Fred and George everywhere in order to tell them when they should be there but she could not find them for the life of her. So she just decided to do it on her own.

Her Professor stared Frieda down as she arrived. "So, Miss Anthemis? Great to finally see you here. Welcome to detention. Follow me." She did as she was told and followed Snape to the kitchen where she was met with the curious stares of several house Elves. The fact that keeping these elves basically as slaves was still legal always baffled Frieda. Everybody always told her that they liked it and that it’s always been this way. But who would like that?

The black haired Professor handed her a bucket and a mop. "Here. You have two hours to clean up the kitchen." And with that he left. Frieda immediately started her task as suddenly two certain red haired boys appeared each holding a mop. 

"Fred and George." "At your service." They said both saluting with their free hand. The blonde chuckled. "How did you know where I am?" "Sorry but that will remain our secret.," Fred said with a wink. 

An hour into work the three were invested in a conversation about Evie. "But why her? What did she do to you?" The twins looked at each other smirked and said in unison "Nothing." "But why? If you just stopped, you could save us all so much trouble." "She was the only one who fought back and it’s been fun so far,"Fred answered and Frieda rolled her eyes. 

"Well frankly, Evie hates you." "Well frankly," George added "we don’t care." All of them started laughing. They went on like this until the topic changed to the Triwizard Tournament. 

"And how did you think you can participate? Aren’t you only sixteen?" "What do you mean only. We’re gonna be seventeen in April. That’s soon enough," Fred said angrily. "Okay easy. You‘re still sixteen though. You can’t really do anything about that, can you?" "We were thinking about an Ageing Potion. Do you know how to do that maybe?" George looked down to the floor. "Hey George, we don’t need help from a little Hufflepuff." Frieda looked up from her work. "We‘ll see about that." 

All of a sudden she heard a creak coming from the kitchen door. Panicked she looked at her watch. "That’s Snape! You two have to go. Now!" As she said these words she turned around to face her Professor. "Who were you talking to?" "Erm..." Frieda turned around again to see that the twins were gone. "No one."


	4. Never underestimate a little Hufflepuff

The next day, Frieda, Evie and Ollie were sitting with a few other students right by the Goblet of Fire. "And you’re sure you want to put your name in it? I mean, isn’t it gonna be dangerous? What if you hurt yourself?" Frieda was anxious. Her best friend wanted to participate in a potentially deadly Tournament and he was not even a tiny bit scared. 

"Of course it’ll be dangerous. But it’ll also be fun." "Fun? Are you kidding me? You are risking your life for fun?" Evie joined the conversation "Oh don’t be dramatic Frieda. He’s not gonna die. He probably won’t even take part in the first place. He‘s such a whimp." Ollie playfully slapped Evie’s arm. "I‘m not a whimp. Actually I‘m putting in my name right now."

He stood up and approached the Goblet when he got interrupted by a dirty blond buy with a Hufflepuff uniform. Cedric Diggory. When Fred and George were Evie’s enemies, he was Ollie‘s. Whenever there was something Ollie was good at, Cedric was better. Quidditch, classes, girls. They always competed and Ollie was always second. 

Cedric made his way to the Goblet. He hesitated at first but put his name in nevertheless. The hall was roaring and all of the Hufflepuffs were congratulating him. And not only them. Also a certain brown haired Ravenclaw girl went up to Cedric to shake his hand. Ollie went up and put in his name as well. 

Frieda smiled even though she was now even more scared than before. She gave her friend a firm hug "Good luck. I‘m proud of you," she said. "Thanks. At least one of you supports me,“ Ollie snorted as he looked over to Evie who was basically drooling over Cedric. "She’s gonna come to her senses when you get chosen. No need to be jealous." "I‘m not jealous of that little prick." "Sure," Frieda said amused. 

After everybody calmed down a bit the twins also entered the hall. "We made it everyone. We made an Ageing Potion." The students cheered for their schoolmates. 

Frieda leaned towards her friend "That’s not going to work in a million years," she muttered. "Why not?" "Dumbledore made an age line. As if he didn’t think about an Ageing Potion when he did so. They already told me about their plan during detention and George even asked me for help. But before I could suggest something better, Fred said that they won’t need help from a little Hufflepuff. So I shut up to let them fail." Ollie laughed. "Frieda, who would have thought you could be mean like that?"

Since they were not paying attention, the duo did not notice how the twins put their names in and how it seemingly worked. The only thing they noticed was that a loud sizzle and a bright light came out of the Goblet of Fire and the the two gingers were catapulted away from it. When they came to a Fall beards grew on the twin‘s faces. 

The whole hall was roaring with laughter. Evie walked up to her two friends, tears coming out of her eyes. "This is so much better than anything I could have thought of. And you know what the best part is? They did it to themselves." "I knew you would love this," Frieda said beaming at her friend. "Wait, that was you?," Evie asked in awe. "Well not really. I just didn’t hold them back when they told me about their plan." "Never underestimate a little Hufflepuff," Ollie said giving his two best friends a high five.


	5. They could use a bludger against their heads

"Okay, let’s go!," Cedric Diggory screamed. Frieda slowly but steadily went up on her broom. She hated Quidditch and this was probably the worst idea she ever had. Keeper. As if she would make a good Keeper. Well she was not one yet but even trying out seemed like the most ridiculous idea ever. As the blonde was looking towards the stands, she saw Evie and Emil giving her reassuring looks. 

The weather was bad. Very bad. It was so foggy that she almost could not see anything, wind was nearly blowing her off her broom and the rain already left her a drenched mess. "So I know the conditions aren‘t exactly ideal but this could also happen during a normal match so at least you‘re prepared then." 

Ollie gave Frieda a thumbs up when she looked at him for support. For the tryouts Cedric wanted to do 'a little match for fun'. When he said those words Frieda was the first one to groan. She had no idea what she was doing. 

A few minutes in and Frieda let almost all of the quaffles through the rings. "Okay, time out!," Cedric called and flew over to the girl. In a soft voice he asked "Are you okay? You're not exactly performing well. And allow me to say it...I don’t think you’re going to make it. Do you want to stop?" Frieda nodded. She felt defeated. It is not like she was not trying. It was more like she was not good at something for the very first time. Sure she could have prepared herself for this but whenever she made the plans to do so, she procrastinated. That was definitely a bad habit of hers. 

As she was descending a rough wind hit her. Anxiety started hitting her as well as she lost control of her broom. Frieda hung upside down two times before finally falling down. 

"Frieda!," Emil screamed in shock as he stormed to his sister‘s side, followed by Evie. The fallen girl slowly came to a sitting position. "It’s fine. I just hit my head a bit." Emil sat down next to her. "Are you sure? Should we go to Madam Pomfrey?" "No, I‘m okay. Really. I just didn’t make the Quidditch team." Frieda looked down at her hands. Her brother did not say a word. Instead he threw his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. 

As great as this moment was, it had to be interrupted. Of course it was Fred and George who came up to the three. Fred was the first one to say something "That was spectacular. No, immaculate. Say Frieda, could you give us some tipps, so we‘ll be as good as you for our next match?" 

"Bugger off Weasley or do you want me to teach you some manners?," Emil came to his sister’s defense. Of course Frieda and Emil were polar opposites but as soon as somebody tried to hurt one of them they did everything in their power to protect one another. 

"I don’t know. What do you think Georgie?" "I think our mother already taught us well." "She clearly didn’t teach you well enough then." Evie could not stop herself and also said something but it went unheard as Frieda tried to de-escalate the situation. "Emil it’s fine. There’s no need to teach anybody manners here, is there?"

With her last words she looked over to the twins. They just stared at her in disbelief. How was she always so calm? No matter how much the two provoked her, she never seemed to care. "Are you sure? I think they could use a bludger against their heads," Evie said already looking up at the game searching for one of the balls. "I don’t think that’s necessary. Let’s all just calm down and go, okay?" 

Evie shook her head. Her blood was boiling. Now that they started teasing her best friend she had even more reason to despise them. She never got how Frieda could be this collected in these situations. If she were in her shoes she would have done who knows what. 

The Anthemis siblings and Evie both left the twins standing on the Quidditch field. "Hey, can I leave you alone for a bit? I need some time to myself, you know?," Frieda asked the others. "Of course. But as soon as you feel sick you come to us and we go to Madam Pomfrey." 

Her older brother was just like their dad when it came to injuries. He was always worried his family members could be sick and as soon as they showed any signs of ill health he insisted on going to the hospital (he only believed in Muggle medicine and doctors though).

Frieda made her way to her greenhouse. She made it when she was in year two. Back then she was always nervous about anything. Her father told her that Muggles used chamomile to calm their nerves. That’s when she started drinking chamomile tea making it with her own plants. 

The greenhouse was her own idea. No wizard has ever heard of chamomile so she was not able to buy any and her father could not possibly send her as much as she needed every week. Nowadays not only the plants helped her but also the greenhouse did. It was her little sanctuary. Frieda decorated it and put a sofa in it for comfort. 

Her heart became a little warmer when she entered the glass doors. It was like going to her grandparent‘s house over Christmas with the fireplace on and the German biscuits smelling like cinnamon, ginger and butter. It felt like home. 

Usually the blonde was alone there since nobody really knew about her place. It was only now that she heard a little knock. Quickly she looked up from the book she just started reading. It was Emil standing in the door frame. 

"Can I come in?" His sister put her hand on the seat next to her signaling him to sit down. "Look, I‘m sorry about our fight last week. I was just trying to make everybody happy you know?" "It’s okay. I get it. I know how mum can be sometimes. When she doesn’t get her way, she pressures everybody around her to make it happen. But the spell..." 

Emil interrupted Frieda "I know that wasn’t you. Ollie told me about the twins. That’s why I was so angry at them. Have they done this before?" His forehead was folding. He was angry. "No, no. They actually helped me with my detention task. I don’t know why they’re suddenly after me though." "Swear if they do anything bad to you, you tell me?" Frieda held her pinky finger out. Her brother rolled his eyes but still intertwined his with hers.


	6. He‘s hot and a Champion

The students of Hogwarts, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons were all sitting in the great hall. In front of them was the Goblet of Fire and Dumbledore who was about to announce the three Champions participating in the Triwizard Tournament. 

Ollie was shifting in his seat. "Nervous?," Frieda asked him with a sympathetic smile on her face. "Me? Nervous? Never." His friend put her hands up and chuckled. He was nervous, she could see it by the way he was behaving. 

Usually, Ollie Knight had the best posture there was. Now he was slouching like a prawn. He also normally took great care of his black curly hair but today he just let it do its thing sticking up in every imaginable direction. 

"Here, have some tea," Frieda said pouring it from her thermos into a cup. "Thanks." Ollie basically yanked the beverage out of her hands making it spill a bit on her robe. "Sorry. I guess I am a little nervous." "No big deal. Drink your tea and you’ll feel better in no time." And really. A few minutes after he took the first sips he calmed down. 

"So, now that we’re all here I am glad to announce the Champions." Dumbledore stuck his hand out, awaiting that a piece of parchment would come out of the Goblet. "Representing Beauxbatons, the first Champion is Fleur Delacour." A blonde girl in a blue uniform stood up. Her friends (or at least what Frieda assumed to be her friends) were the first ones to embrace her with the others in the hall clapping. The girl walked towards Dumbledore who shook her hand. 

Then the next piece came out. "For Durmstrang: Viktor Krum." "Krum, Krum, Krum!," the students from Durmstrang along with a few Gryffindors were chanting. 

Frieda had a few relatives from Durmstrang since her mother and her siblings used to go there when they were younger. Agathe‘s siblings still lived close to the school in the north so some of Frieda‘s cousins went there. She hasn’t seen any of them though and she also did not plan on looking for them. 

"And now onto the representative from Hogwarts." Now Ollie (and Frieda for that matter) was on edge. He almost crushed his friend’s hand from squishing it too hard. "Cedric Diggory!" The Hogwarts students cheered loudly the proudest being the Hufflepuffs.

"Of course it‘s him! Who else would it be to ruin my life again." "Hey, he‘s not ruining it. He could be saving it for all you know." Ollie let out an annoyed snort. "Yeah right. When will you get into your head that nobody’s going to die. He just took my chance of being seen for once." 

"Calm down. Evie and I see you. Isn’t that enough?" "Try again. I think Evie sees other people." Ollie nodded into the Ravenclaw‘s direction. And indeed, she only had eyes for the freshly presumed Champion cheering and clapping enthusiastically for him. "Wow I haven’t seen her this happy since she caught the twins in one of those giant sticky fly traps." "You’re right. But that only proves my point. Not even one of my best friends can come over and comfort me." 

"But I‘m here." "Yeah but that doesn’t count. You’re always here." "You’re right. Better not give me a reason to change that then," Frieda said with a raised eyebrow. 

But before Ollie could answer her, the two turned their attention to the Goblet as it was about to spit out another piece of parchment. "What on earth..." Ollie‘s eyes were wide open staring at Dumbledore. The bearded wizard also looked like he was just as bewildered as his students. "Harry Potter!,“ he read out. 

'That poor kid,' was the first thought going through Frieda‘s mind when she heard that. There was no chance that he put his own name into the Goblet. But since it was always Potter when something weird happened at Hogwarts, the other students were going to make his school year a living nightmare for him.

"See, I told you it’s always Potter. How do you think he did it?," Evie asked suddenly appearing behind her two best friends. "Oh, look who decided to show up Frieda. It‘s my 'best friend Evie'." "Don’t be a drama queen Ollie. You didn’t get chosen. It’s not a big deal." Ollie looked almost offended. "It wouldn’t be a big deal if that git Diggory didn’t get chosen. He takes everything away from me! And you‘re supporting it!" "Let’s not get your knickers in a twist. He‘s hot and a Champion. Of course I’m supporting it." "He‘s hot and a Champion," Ollie mimicked the brunette warping his face. 

"Okay, I think it’s time for a cool down again. Can we maybe find an agreement?" Frieda looked demandingly at her friends. "Nothing? Okay, so how about that? There is no need to mock what Evie is attracted to. She is entitled to her opinion and free to support the Hogwarts Champion." Evie stuck out her tongue believing she won the argument. 

"On the other hand, Ollie has every right to be upset that he didn’t get chosen. He was really looking forward to it and the fact that Cedric got chosen instead doesn’t make it any better. We should be there to support him because he’s our friend." 

"You’re such a libra," Ollie said. "Me liking harmony has nothing to do with astrology. How do you even know about that?" "I found your Muggle magazine in your bag once and it was full of that stuff and now I’m obsessed. Did you know that I’m an Aquarius?" Frieda rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know. How fitting." "Oh fun! What am I?," Evie asked not even knowing what the two were talking about. "Your birthday's June first right?" The two Hufflepuffs looked at each other concerned and said in unison "You’re a Gemini." "Cool...and what does that mean?" "I’m gonna give you that magazine Ollie was talking about so you can read for yourself." "Wait is it that bad?" "No, not at all. It’s just that..." 

Frieda stopped in her tracks when she suddenly felt something tickling her. The feeling didn’t stop and to make matters worse she felt the urge to laugh uncontrollably. "Frieda, what’s wrong?,“ Evie asked panic rising in her as she realized that nothing about this situation was funny. 

"I...I don’t...know...something’s ti...tickling me," Frieda said inbetween laughter. It didn’t take long for her to find out what was going on though. "This...this is...a...a tickling...ch...charm! Do...some...thing!" Evie did not know what to do. But Ollie took out his wand making the spell undone. 

"This was the twins! What is their problem with you at the moment. To Merlin, when I catch these two plonkers they’ll have nothing to laugh anymore."

"That was way funnier than we thought," Fred said, a grin on his face. "You can think?,“ Evie was quick to answer. "Why is it, that whenever we talk to little Frieda, it’s you guys who answer instead?" "Maybe because she’s got something better to do than talking to some absolute knob heads like you two." "Calm down woman. It was just a joke," George chimed in. 

"Yeah, they’re right Evie. No need to get angry. Really it’s okay. And we’re gonna get them back anyways, right?," Frieda tried to defuse the tension before her friend could do something stupid. 

"Okay that’s it. Tell us!," Fred said all of a sudden. "Tell you what?" Frieda genuinely did not know what the two wanted from her. "Tell us what your secret is. You’re never angry at us, no matter what we do to you. How do you do that?" Now George was doing the talking.

"Well, there’s no need to be angry. That only ruins all the good energy. If you have anger issues though, you should try meditation. For me that always helps." There was no chance Evie was telling them her real secret. Firstly, they could use that against her and secondly, it was just embarrassing to admit that the only thing preventing her from having a mental breakdown every five minutes was a little plant.

"You’re joking. For heaven’s sake. Just tell us. We won’t snitch if it’s something illegal." "Haven’t you gotten the message? She won’t tell you. And now bye, we have more important things to do than talking to you two."


	7. He was quite good looking actually

It was the day of the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. Students of every house and school were placed in the stands they were normally watching Quidditch in. 

The whole way there Ollie was moaning about not wanting to go and how it was going to be boring anyway. Frieda also was not too fond of going. If the rumors were true, the Champions had to fight against dragons and just thinking about that, her stomach started aching. But there was no use complaining. Evie was determined to see the spectacle and she was not going to do that on her own. So she practically dragged her friends to come with her. 

When the trio was seated, the first task was already about to begin. "Do you reckon the rumors are true? You know...about the dragons," Evie asked keeping her words down for the second part. "I don’t hope so. Do you know what can go wrong with that? They could get badly injured from these dragons. They are pretty powerful. Here..." 

Frieda started rummaging through the bag she carried getting out a copy of 'Fantastic beasts and where to find them'. "In this book it says all about them." "I know. I own one of those as well." "Yeah I know. But I doubt that you’ve even read one page of it." "Touché."

"Ladies!," a familiar voice called out. It was George making his way through the spectators along with his brother who added "And Ollie." Evie and Ollie rolled their eyes. "What do you want now?," the Ravenclaw asked. "Easy there. We just wanted to make you guys an offer," Fred said grinning. "You’re making a whole lot of offers these days, Weasley. What is it this time?"

"Can I maybe interest you in placing a few bets?" Evie did not look too interested in it but Ollie was definitely intrigued. "Can I bet against that prick over there?," he asked motioning his head towards Cedric who just entered. "Against? That’s not exactly how..." "Sure you can!," Fred interrupted his twin giving him a sharp look "That will be one Galleon then." Ollie handed him the money. Frieda was about to prevent him from doing so, until George started talking to her. 

"How about you Frieda? Maybe put your money on Potter?" She could tell that he was not serious by the grin on his face so she decided on going along with it. "Thanks I‘m good. Wasn’t exactly planning on getting scammed today." The red head put his hand on his chest and fake gasped "Miss Anthemis. How could you ever think so poorly of me and my respectable brother. We are nothing but two innocent lads hoping to make some extra money." 

This was the first time Frieda actually took a proper look at the tall Gryffindor. He was quite good looking actually. His brown eyes mixed perfectly with his red hair that grew a bit longer over the last summer. A genuine smile was plastered on his face. How did she never see this in all of the years they’ve known each other?

"Frieda?" She was pulled out of her thoughts by Fred who had a smug look on his face. "What?" "Sure you don’t want to participate? We’re making a special offer just for you." "As tempting as that sounds, I think I‘ll pass on this one." With that the two departed. 

"What was that all about?," Ollie asked. "What do you mean? I just talked to them. You‘re the one who placed a bet against someone." "So? What’s the big deal?" Evie and Frieda looked at each other. How could one person be that clueless?

A bit of time has passed and Cedric was still trying to get the egg from the dragon. Frieda felt Evie taking her arm as she was tensely watching everything go down. "You okay over there?," Ollie asked. "Ssshhh." The brunette used her free hand to slap the laughing boy in order to shush him. "Somebody’s nervous that the hot Champion might lose his pretty face." "Ollie! This is serious. What if something actually happens to him? You will never forgive yourself when you’re nasty to him all the time," Frieda said slapping him once again. 

"Why are you two so violent?" "'Cause you have to learn that just because you don’t like someone, you don’t have the right to be mean to them." "Guys, can you shut it for one second. He’s about to do it." And really. Right after Evie’s outbreak, Cedric managed to steal the egg from the dragon. Of course the Hogwarts students were overjoyed. Everyone besides Ollie.


	8. I guess I‘m a little stressed

It was a Tuesday morning and Evie and Frieda were walking to their first class. Herbology. That was not too bad. Usually Hufflepuffs were said to be especially good at it. But Frieda was not that interested in it.

Even though she really liked gardening, the magical part was not for her. There was way too much you had to be wary of. Muggle gardening was more her thing. 

When the two girls trotted down the hallway, it was already filled with other students. They were a bit late, so it was especially stressful as everybody was rushing to their classes. 

"Did you do the assignment yet?," Frieda asked. "What assignment?," Evie panicked. "The one for Astronomy. About Jupiter." The brown haired girl thought about it before asking "As I know my bestest friend Frieda Anthemis, she is probably able to help me." 

At first, Frieda was not going to cave in. In the long run it was better if Evie did her assignments on her own, considering that the O.W.L.s were coming up and she was already barely passing. But she could not look into her friend’s eyes without feeling bad. 

"Okay, but this is the last time. Just come to our common room tonight and I‘ll help you. But no copying. And when we study for the O.W.L.s you need to do some work on your own." "Sure thing. Thanks Frieda."

Right before the duo was going to make a turn to get to their destination, Frieda saw George pacing up and down the hallway. He was reciting something to himself but stumbled upon his own words. She could sense his nervousness from across the room. 

"Evie? Could you tell Miss Sprout that I‘m coming a bit later. I...have something to do." "What? Are you sure that I shouldn’t wait for you. We can be late together if you have to go to the restrooms or something." "No, it’s okay. Don’t wait for me. Just take notes!" 

And with that, Frieda turned around and went right up to the red head. She did not know what went through her mind when she was doing it. Usually she would have just gone to class when she was already late. But this time it was different as she had the urge to help the boy who seemed to really need it. 

Frieda walked up behind him and tapped him lightly on his shoulder. He jumped at her touch. "I‘m so sorry. I didn’t want to scare you." "No, you didn’t. Hi Frieda." "Hey. Are you okay? I noticed that you seemed a bit...distracted." George looked down to his feet. 

"Yeah, I guess I‘m a little stressed. Moody is making me do a presentation about the Shield Charm cause Fred and I made... doesn’t matter." Frieda hesitated for a few seconds until she offered "Do you maybe want some tea? It always helps me when I‘m stressed." 

George looked at her in amusement. "That’s very nice of you. But I‘m not sure how exactly a tea could help me with this situation." "Trust me. You prepared, right?" He nodded. "So it’s not that you don’t know what you’re talking about." 

"No, but as soon as I try to form sentences only nonsense is coming out." "So you’re scared. And this tea will calm you down. Trust me. Here, take the whole thing," Frieda said, handing him her thermos. Still confused, George took it. "Thanks. I guess." "Good luck," she said already facing the other direction. 

Just in time, Frieda reached the classroom and sat down next to Evie. "What did you do? I saw you walking up to Weasley. Are you friends now?," she questioned her. Frieda was a bit taken aback. She never really thought about the fact that Evie might not like when she helped her worst enemies. 

"No, I just had to ask him if he could give my brother his quill. He forgot it when we studied together and they are in the same class," she lied. Evie however, did not buy it. "Why didn’t you give it Ollie then? Isn’t he in the same class as well?" Frieda shrugged. "I forgot." With that, the class started and their conversation ended.

It was almost the end of the school day. Frieda was in her DADA class looking mindlessly out of the window. Usually she would drink her tea throughout the day so by now she was a mess. She caught herself drifting off during most of her classes. 

"Miss Anthemis. I see, you’re not paying attention. Can you perhaps answer my question?," Professor Moody catapulted her back to the real world. "I...sorry, what was it?" "Maybe instead of staring out of the window, you should listen to what I‘m saying. My question was, what do you have to absolutely keep in mind when casting a counter-curse?" 

Frieda knew the answer. But something was stopping her from saying it. It was the fear of it being wrong. She felt the panic rising in her, her face turned a deep shade of pink, she was shaking and a stifling feeling spread in her stomach. 

"Nothing?," Moody dug a little deeper. But there was no use. Frieda gave up and shook her head. "Stop daydreaming then. Miss Nadir?" Evie looked at Frieda in disbelief as she answered the question "You have to maintain eye contact, sir." "Correct. Ten points to Ravenclaw." 

"What’s going on? We both know too well that you know the answer to that." But Frieda did not even hear her as she was already stuck in her own head again.

After classes Frieda was in desperate need for some rest. But she got interrupted by the twins blocking her way to the Hufflepuff common room. "Okay, I think we uncovered your secret," Fred said excitedly. Frieda really was not in the mood for their little games. 

"What secret?" "Why you’re always so calm. It’s the tea. So how did you do it?" "I really don’t know what you mean. It’s just tea." "Yeah, right. But what did you do to it that it has this kind of effect?" 

When Frieda finally got what Fred was on about, she decided to mess with them a little. "Oh, that. It was super easy, you know. But it wouldn’t be a secret anymore if I told you." "Come on. We were looking everywhere for a charm or a potion. It can’t be Draught of Peace. It’s got the wrong colour. So for heaven’s sake, what is it?" 

"Again, I can’t tell you. I can’t possibly risk that you tell it to everybody. Sorry guys." Fred furrowed his eyebrows. "You can’t be serious, woman. Sooner or later we’re gonna find out. Right George?" 

George however did not pay attention. The only attention he was paying was to the blonde Hufflepuff in front of him. To his luck, she did not notice how he was staring at her. Fred gave him a little kick to the leg, waking him up from his trance. 

"What?... Yeah, you’re right. We’re gonna find out." "That sounds very convincing," Frieda said with a grin. For some reason she was already feeling way better in the presence of the two. "Maybe hang out with us tomorrow? We heard that you’re excellent at Transfiguration and we could use some help with that," George said hastily. 

"You know that I‘m a year younger than you, right?" "Doesn’t matter. Someone who can make a potion like that, can teach even us a thing or two," Fred said. Behind his back he was giving his brother a reassuring nudge. 

"Okay then. Just tell me when and where and I‘m there." What was going on with her? Normally she would never think of saying yes to something as ridiculous as this. Especially since it was the Weasley twins. But she could not resist the urge to find out more about them.

"Great! Oh, before I forget. Here’s your...thing back. It really helped me. Thanks again," George said handing Frieda her thermos back.


	9. You are your own person

It has been a few weeks since Fred and George Weasley asked Frieda to hang out with them. And they have been doing so almost everyday. 

At first she was only helping them with their tasks. They were right, she was better than them even though they were downplaying her abilities when they noticed that as well. When they warmed up a little, the twins showed Frieda some of their inventions. She did not understand how they were so smart with those and still somehow managed to almost fail some of their classes. 

This morning, the three were standing in front of the twins' first classroom. "I have to go now. Evie’s waiting for me and my Potions class starts soon," Frieda said. "I see. Can’t let the dictator wait." Fred was smirking. He was way more into teasing Evie than George. Over the last few weeks, Frieda found out that the master mind behind all of the pranks against her best friend was mostly him.

"Stop saying that about her! If you would actually meet her, you would see how cool she is." Even though she befriended the Weasleys now that did not mean she would betray her best friend like that. Never in a million years would Frieda treat her badly. Not after all what Evie did for her. She was her rock and that would never change. 

George answered "Well, she isn’t exactly interested in getting to know us. If I recall correctly, she called us bloody wankers last week." "Yes, because you smuggled the wrong ingredients in her potion and it blew up. Thanks again for doing that through me." 

"We couldn’t resist, really. We’re directly at the source now." "Oh, that’s why you asked me to hang out. Good to know." George looked irritated for a second before realizing that Frieda was not being serious. "Oh no, she got us, Fred. What ever will we do about that now?" "Nothing. She will stay either way because we’re so charming, intelligent and a pleasure to be around." 

Frieda chuckled "You are thinking way too high of yourself there. But you’re right. Because it’s not only you who is directly at the source. You’re telling me everything without thinking about what I’m telling Evie." Fred fake gasped "You wouldn’t dare to do that, Frieda Anthemis." Even though Fred thought he was making a joke, he was absolutely correct.

Frieda would never betray neither the twins nor Evie. Whenever they told her about something they wanted to do, she would keep quiet. But she did exactly the same thing with Evie. When she planned her revenge Frieda did not tell the twins a thing, no matter how much they would bug her about it. 

"By the way, we’re going to Hogsmeade this weekend. Do you wanna join us?" The answer was yes. But also no. Here came the tricky part. If Frieda spent the weekends with the twins, Evie would think that they were doing more than just homework (which she already despised) and then all hell would break loose. 

How could she possibly explain that to her. The two people who tormented her during the last three years were now taking her best friend out for a fun weekend? That must hurt. But on the other hand, there were the twins and they were absolutely not as bad as Evie made them out to be. Frieda had so much fun with them over the last weeks. Of course they could never replace Ollie and Evie but she wanted to get to know them. 

And then there was George. Despite that she would probably not admit it, she might have had a thing for him. Just the way he would look at her with his warm brown eyes was enough to make her happy for the day. So that was probably what led her to answer "Sure. That would be great!" 

In her Potions class, Frieda could not concentrate. Why on earth did she agree to go to Hogsmeade and of all people with the twins. Evie noticed that something was off. "You seem a bit distracted. Do you wanna hang out after class? Maybe we can talk. Haven’t done that in a while." Frieda greatfully accepted. Perhaps it was really time to talk. She just had to tell her about George but she had to ease her into the topic. 

"Yeah, I have to tell you something. Should we meet at the black lake at seven? Then I can finish my homework and we’ll have enough time to talk."

After classes were finished for the day and Frieda did all her assignments, she went to the black lake to meet up with Evie. She was not feeling too well about the situation since she knew how her best friend could get. 

Arriving at the lake Frieda immediately spotted the brown haired Ravenclaw sitting by a tree. "Hey!" "Hi," she answered coldly. What was going on? Becoming a bit jittery Frieda still sat down next to her. "So, I heard you have plans this weekend,“ Evie continued. Frieda shifted a little to the side. 

"Yes..." "Are you actually serious? The twins?" Now it was certain: Evie was mad. And not just as mad as she normally was. It was different, way colder. "We’re just going to Hogsmeade. Maybe you can come as well." 

That was the wrong suggestion as Evie quickly reacted with a "Come as well? And why exactly would I do that? You’ve been hanging out with those assholes for the last three weeks, completely ignored me doing so and now you’re expecting me to just accept that. Have you gone mental?" 

Frieda was a bit shocked. She knew that Evie was not happy about this whole situation but she did not know that she felt so strongly about it. "Okay fine. I’ll just tell them that I don’t have time this weekend. Maybe we can do something instead." 

Judging from the look on Evie’s face, that also was not the right answer. "No thanks. I’m not your second choice, Frieda. And besides, I have to study. Maybe Ollie will help me. You seem to be quite busy these days." She got up and walked away. 

Frieda could already feel her face heating up and tears starting to form. She could hear her heart beating and her blood flowing. Everything felt dull as the only thought going through her head was "I lost her."

When she calmed down a little, Frieda decided to get up and find the twins. She could not bring herself to go to Hogsmeade with them. As she wandered around the school, she saw Fred around the corner talking to Angelina Johnson. When he was finished, she went up to him. 

"Frieda, what can I do for you?" She shuffled before finally answering "I just wanted to tell you that I can’t join you this weekend. And it also would be better if we didn’t hang out as much anymore." Those words stung and she was glad that she did not have to say them to George. 

"Okay...Why’s that? Did we do something wrong?" "Maybe our lives don’t really collide. You know, with you guys and Evie not exactly being friends. I just don’t want to make things harder than they already are for her." "Did she tell you to stop talking to us? Because you do know that you are your own person, right?" Even though Evie technically did not tell her to do that, Frieda still felt like that she was obligated to do so. 

"Yes, I know. But I don’t want to cause anymore trouble than I already did." "If you say so. But maybe think about it again. We won’t be mad if you change your mind." 

Frieda felt absolutely bummed. Not only was her best friend mad at her, she also had to give up her friendship with Fred and George. But perhaps it was for the better. She could feel herself catching feelings for George and that would never work out.

Not only because of the pressure from her friends but also because there was no chance that he would like her back. He was a popular, good looking guy, so way out of her league. When she thought about the crushes she already had, there was not one happy memory. 

Back in her second year, she really liked Oliver Wood. That was just straight up unrealistic. Every girl was after him and he was way older than her. 

Then there was that one Slytherin boy her brother used to hang out with. When he found out about it, he just called her ugly (that gained him the beating of his life by Emil though). 

So whenever she liked someone, she just left it alone until the feeling was gone. But this time it was different. George was different. He was kind, funny, caring and he actually wanted to have something to do with her. Perhaps that was the problem. Yes, he wanted to spend time with her, but only as friends. And the more it seemed like he liked her, the more she got   
her hopes up. 

Those were the thoughts running through her head as she laid on the sofa in her greenhouse. Maybe staying here for a while would help her. She could not possibly go to her dorm room. The girls there were all super nice, but they mostly kept to themselves and stopped including Frieda a long time ago. 

Somebody knocked at the door. "Emil, whatever it is, can it maybe wait until tomorrow? I’m really not in the mood for talking right now." When nobody answered, she looked up. To her surprise, it was not Emil standing there but George. 

In awe he looked at the chamomile plants and the cozy interior. "Did you do all of this? This is amazing." "Thanks. But how did you find it?" "That is my little secret," he said with a grin, "May I sit down?" "Sure," Frieda answered moving all the way to the other side of the couch to give him space.

"You don’t have to move to the other side of the world. I’m not poisonous," the red head chuckled. Frieda only smiled a bit. "What is all this for? I mean it’s very cool and all but does it have a purpose?" She blankly looked in her lap before answering "I‘m telling you under two conditions. You can’t tell anyone, not even Fred. And you can’t make fun of me. It’s a little embarrassing to be honest." "Okay deal. Now tell me," George said hastily. 

"Remember the tea I gave you? That’s the plants I’m using for it." The Gryffindor looked disappointed. "That’s it? But how does it calm one down without putting a spell on it or something?" 

"It’s a Muggle thing. My father taught it to me. Whenever I get nervous, which is about always, I drink the tea. It’s homeopathic." "Homeo what?" She laughed, "Homeopathic. It means that it’s like natural medicine. You don’t need magic or chemistry for it to work." "Fascinating. My father would love this. He is obsessed with everything that Muggles do. I have to tell him about..." He cut himself off after realizing that that would break the deal he just made. 

Instead, he changed the topic. "So, Fred told me that you don’t want to spend time with us anymore. Why’s that?" She felt like she could trust him with the truth so she answered "Evie isn’t too happy with the situation. And as much as I like you two, Evie is my best friend and I can’t let her down like that. Besides me, she only has Ollie and I can’t just leave her alone with him." 

"You’re such a Hufflepuff." "Excuse me?" "No, I mean that in a good way. You’re loyal, I like that. When you feel that that’s the right thing to do, then that’s fine. Just don’t stop talking to us, okay? We would miss you too much." They what now? Frieda could not believe her ears when George said those words. 

She felt herself blushing. "Okay. Maybe I can find a solution. But we should take a little break just to cool down the whole situation. Thanks for listening George. I really needed that." "No big deal. Come here," he said as he came closer to pull her into a firm hug. Frieda practically melted into his arms. Feeling his warmth and care immediately made her feel at ease. And that was the moment she realized that it was way too late already. She fell for him.


	10. You are the most important person in my life

Two days later and Evie still has not talked to Frieda. No matter how hard she tried, she could not mend what she destroyed. Even in class she fully ignored her. 

At least she was still friends with Ollie. Evie on the other hand was all on her own. She would not even talk to Ollie because he "is in the same house as the traitor and therefore on her side" even though he tried to stay neutral. 

Frieda was on her way to her second class when she was stopped by Emil and Ollie. "Ollie just told me what happened between you and Evie. Are you okay?," her brother asked. "Yeah, it’s fine I guess. If she wouldn’t ignore me, the situation would be significantly better but other than that we’re doing amazing." 

Emil rolled his eyes. "I‘m being serious. Do you want to talk about it?" "No, I already did. But thank you." The boys looked at each other. Ollie knowingly and Emil questioning. Frieda observed the two. They could not be more different. 

Ollie was soft. He basically had the personality of a Golden Retriever. When not in uniform, he wore preppy pastel clothes. He had deep dark skin and tight curls framing his face. The Hufflepuff‘s eyes were golden brown. 

Emil‘s eyes were also brown but they were not warm like Ollie’s but with a gray tint to them. His facial features were sharp and his skin was pale. The Slytherin was also loyal but in a different way in which he was more aggressive and defensive. He did not shy back from physically hurting someone in order to keep his loved ones safe. 

They still got along though. Since they were in the same year they had a lot of classes together and hence spent much time with each other. 

"She talked to George," Ollie cleared up the situation. "No wonder Evie’s mad at you. Why would you still talk to him after what happened? Aren’t you supposed to be loyal or something?" 

Ollie threw his head back and sighed. "First of all, that’s a stereotype. I’m not calling you evil either, am I? Second of all, she’s got a crush on George."

Frieda’s eyes widened. How in the world did he know about that? Her friend noticed her shocked expression. "What? Do you think I'm blind. Anyone with eyes in their head sees you staring at him non stop."

Emil still could not follow. "Wait, you and that Weasley guy? Didn’t he bully you like three weeks ago? I already thought it was weird that you helped them with their classes. But that?"

"Ollie is exaggerating. We’re just friends. And even if, why would that be wrong?"  
"Are you kidding me? You are actively destroying your friendship with Evie with that. Plus, I don’t want you to get hurt again. Remember my friend you liked last year. That didn’t work out either. Those bad guys aren’t right for you!"

"I don’t know, man. I kind of like a good 'bad guy good girl‘ story," Ollie fell in.   
"Okay, I think we talked enough about my non existent love life now, haven’t we? Now please tell me, what should I do about the whole Evie situation?"

Emil was glad that they changed the topic. "I think you should try to talk to her again. Maybe find a compromise or something."   
"I might have an idea so I can still be friends with the twins and Evie will not be mad at me. Thanks you two!"  
"No big deal. And tell her I said hi."

Frieda had a plan. She had to somehow convince Evie that it was an advantage when she was friends with Fred and George. So right when she saw her she tapped on her shoulder. 

"What do you want? We’re not friends anymore, remember?"  
"Please Evie! We need to talk about it. We miss you so much. And..."  
"And?"  
"I have an idea. What if I tell you that Fred and George will leave you alone from now on?"

At first Evie looked skeptical but after a while she asked "And how exactly would that work?"  
"Since I’m friends with them, I can just tell them to. They‘ll listen. And in the meantime we’re gonna find the perfect revenge for all of the pranks they played on you."

She scoffed. "Why would you do that? I thought you can’t betray your friends like that."  
Frieda answered "Well, you are still my best friend on earth and if it came down between you and them, I would always chose you."

A few seconds of silence followed when Evie finally said "I missed you so much!" She pulled her best friend into a hug.   
"Me too. And Ollie as well. You should probably look for him."  
"Later. We have to talk about our plan first. When are you going to talk to the twins?"

"Maybe this Weekend. I could go to Hogsmeade with them and talk it through. They won’t become suspicious when I still do stuff with them. And as they said themselves, I am directly at the source."

"Frieda, you’re brilliant. But promise me one thing."   
"What?"  
"Never leave me alone again. These past few days were horrible."

"I won’t. But you’ll have to promise something as well. You have to accept that I sometimes hang out with other people. You are and forever will be the most important person in my life and no twins on this planet will ever change that, okay?"


	11. When did you become a nervous wreck?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, I thought I‘d try something new by writing mostly from Fred‘s perspective. I hope you’re all enjoying this story so far! Have a nice day!

Hogsmeade weekend finally arrived. One would think that Frieda was happy that she finally reached her goal of peacefully being friends with both Evie and the twins. But the opposite was the case. Fred and George would never listen to her when she said they needed to stop with the pranks. 

"Are you coming now? We’re already late!," Fred shouted. "That’s what we get for bringing a girl with us," he muttered. George gave him a nudge. "Hey, she’s okay." 

"You only say that because you like her. If any other girl behaved like that you would leave with no hesitation."

George blushed. His brother knew exactly what was going on. Usually his crushes were not making him as nervous. Alicia Spinnet for example. He just asked her out and then they dated for a couple of months. It was that easy. But with Frieda it was different. He did not even know how to start. What did he even want to tell her? 'I like you. Can you please be my girlfriend'? 

"No need to be nervous! She’s just a little Hufflepuff, remember?"   
"Yeah, I think I highly underestimated her impact back then. She’s basically a genius with a big dash of kindness and a hint of coward. But just a hint that’s small enough to play it off as a need of protection. She’s literally perfect. How in the world is she even real?"

Fred laughed. His brother has fallen for a girl they normally would not even give a second look. Sure, she was not ugly but definitely not their type. They usually liked sporty Gryffindor girls who were preferably on their Quidditch team. Frieda was a chubby Hufflepuff carrying around tea everywhere she went. 

But George was right, there was something special about her. She was the epitome of kindness. It was the one where she would not think about treating somebody differently than others because of any reason. She even was nice to Malfoy although he insulted her in front of everyone. Nobody told her that Emil dealt with the situation his way though.

"Do you think she will enjoy going to Zonko's with us? Or maybe we could do something different. We could go to...," George was cut off by his brother. 

"She liked seeing our invention and what we planned for our shop, didn’t she?" George nodded. "Then she will also like Zonko's. It’s fine. When did you become a nervous wreck?" 

"Funny that you’re asking because I don’t even know myself. Do you reckon she put a lovepotion in that tea she gave me? I have never behaved like that in my life."  
"You’re joking, right? George, you’re in love. That’s all."

"In love? Don’t be ridiculous now. Maybe I like her a little. It’s just a crush, it’ll be over soon."  
Fred motioned towards the stairs "Here comes your 'little crush'," he snickered. 

"Hey guys. Sorry that I‘m late. I had some convincing to do."   
"Does Evie still have her knickers in a twist over this? I already told you, you are your own person."

"Okay, first of all, don’t talk about her like that. Second of all, it was Emil actually. He didn’t like the idea of us hanging out at all. He said something about you two being bad for me." George gulped. He was genuinely scared of Frieda’s older brother. What if he found out that he liked her? He simply could not.   
"Then we should prove the opposite to him. Come on, or we’ll be late," Fred answered. 

Hogsmeade was quite nice. If you loved third wheeling. Because that was what Fred essentially did. Not that he was complaining. He loved seeing his brother so happy so it was not that big of a deal.

However if he did not do anything about the situation soon, he would end up with a whiny little bitch for a twin brother. He was madly in love with Frieda and anyone with working eyes could see that. 

Everyone except her. You could see the worry in her eyes as she looked at George. She also liked him but was too scared to admit it. Great combination if you asked Fred. He just had to help them a little and then... 

He got interrupted by Frieda who was sitting opposite him. They decided to take a break at The Three Broomsticks before heading back. 

"Guys, I have to ask you something." "Anything for you," Fred said. "Can you please leave Evie alone?" "Except that." "Pleeeaaaaseee. She won’t let me hang out with you if you don’t do it. And I need all three of you. I can’t possibly decide between you and Evie. Soooo?" Frieda pouted. 

But before Fred could decline her pleads, George already answered "It’s okay. I think we can arrange that, right Fred?" "Uhm, yeah right George. I guess." What was his brother thinking? 

And it went on like that. No matter what Frieda said, George agreed. This boy has fallen so deeply and he did not even notice. Fred could not bear looking at the disaster in front of him anymore and said "It’s already late. We should probably head out so we’re back in time." 

But George could not follow. "What do you mean? We have plenty of time le...," he stopped when Fred gave him the look. It was the look that said 'We need to talk. Now.' "You know what, you’re right. May we leave you alone for a few minutes?" "Uhm, sure," Frieda chuckled. 

Fred practically dragged his twin to the restrooms. "What?," George asked upon arriving there. "Are you kidding me? What on earth are you doing? You’re embarrassing yourself out there. I can’t even look at your attempt to flirt." 

"I’m not flirting!"  
"And what exactly are you doing then? Because I can assure you, that that was not normal behavior."  
"I don’t know either. My head is practically empty when I’m around her."  
"Yeah, as if that’s news."  
"Hey, I'm trying to have a serious conversation here. You have to help me."

"Okay okay. We’ll figure something out. But in the mean time, promise me you won’t do anything stupid."   
"Alrighty."

With that, the two headed out to reunite with Frieda who was already waiting for them.   
"Do you still want to study for Transfiguration with me? I found a really good book we can use." 

Fred thought that it was better if they took a small break from their newest friend but before he could decline the offer, George already answered "Thank you, that sounds amazing. Maybe we can go to the Gryffindor common room. We’ll invite you." Fred facepalmed. Was his brother a degenerate idiot? 

So there they were. On a sofa in the Gryffindor common room, Frieda sitting in between the twins a book in her hands she was thoroughly reading in. Fred was on the right side staring at George who sat on the left side staring at Frieda. Was he being serious? They just talked about this. 

"Found it! It’s this chapter right here." Frieda handed George the book. "Thank you. What would we do without you?" Probably pulling a prank on Evie, Fred thought to himself. 

A little time has passed since the twins started reading and the first questions went through Fred's head. "Hey Frieda, do you know how...," he stopped himself when he saw Frieda sleeping in George’s lap. 

"How did that happen?," he half whispered. "I don’t know. She kind of fell asleep and then she sort of sank down and now she’s sleeping in my lap. What do I do? Wake her up?"  
"No, just let her sleep for a few minutes and then we’ll carry her back to her common room."

After reading a bit more, Ron walked up to his brothers. "Mum sent me an owl but it was meant for you two. Something about making a student's potion ex... George? Why is there a girl in your lap?" His eyes wandered to Frieda still sleeping peacefully. 

Fred laughed as George went beet red. "Our brother over here is in love with this Hufflepuff."   
"Am not!"  
"Stop denying it already."  
"How cute. Are you together or something?," Ron said mockingly.   
"He wishes. But I’m working on it."  
"Well, good luck then."

As Ron went off the trio remained on the sofa taking in the atmosphere of the common room. The fireplace cracking of the fireplace, the other students around them talking and from time to time a little snore would escape out of Frieda. 

"Isn’t she precious?," George asked. Fred did not answer, instead he gave him a weird look. "I think it’s time for her to leave now. Are you going to take the honors of picking her up or shall I do it?" 

Without hesitation, George stood up and lifted the sleeping girl up bridal style. "How is she still asleep? Every normal person would wake up from your bumpy ass movements."   
"Shut up. Let’s go, before there’s more questions." Fred started walking behind them trying to contain his laughter. 

When they went down the hallway, somebody was coming their way. That somebody was no other than Emil. "What have you done to her?," he shouted when he saw what was happening in front of him. Like his sister he had a slight German accent. On her it sounded cute   
on him however it sounded scary. 

Fred tried to defuse the tension "No need to worry. She fell asleep and now we’re bringing her to her room. It’s not a big deal." Emil narrowed his eyes. "You’re definitely not stepping a foot into her dorm room. Frieda, Frieda wake up!," he said a bit louder while simultaneously shaking her shoulder. 

Frieda blinked a few times before realizing what situation she was in. When she finally got it, she panicked and made an abrupt movement in order to loosen the grip George had on her. 

"What’s going on?," she asked when he got the clue and let her down.   
"I promise you Frieda, if they’ve done anything to you, they are dead men." Fred’s eyes widened but Frieda already knew how to calm her brother down. 

"They didn’t do anything. In fact, they were just trying to be nice by not waking me up." "Are you sure that you’re okay?" She nodded. "See you tomorrow then. Today was fun. And thank you for... carrying me." Frieda was clearly flustered. 

"No problem. Thanks for the book. We'll give it back when we understood it," George said equally as flustered. "And by that he means never," Fred chuckled. And with that Emil took Frieda’s hand and dragged her towards the Hufflepuff common room. 

"If we don’t find a way for you to get with her I’ll freak out. You behave like an absolute idiot and I can’t look at that anymore."   
"Yeah, you’re right. But how?"  
"I already have an idea."


	12. Straight out of a romantic comedy

"And, how did it go? Can you and Evie remain friends?," Ollie asked eagerly as Frieda sat down next to him in the great hall.   
"I reckon. But the whole day was super embarrassing. I behaved like such an idiot."  
"Why? What happened?"

"I don’t know. I can’t form any coherent sentences when I’m around them. And then I asked them if they wanted to spend even more time with me. And they said yes, because they were probably just trying to be polite. Then I fell asleep in the Gryffindor common room and George had to carry me back because apparently I have a deep sleep. Oh my god, I hope I didn’t snore."  
"I mean you probably did. But that doesn’t sound so bad."

"Yeah, because you haven’t heard the worst part yet. Guess who showed up as I was unconsciously laying in George’s arms."  
"Don’t tell me it was Evie. I can’t stand another   
week of drama."

"No, worse. It was Emil. Of all people to walk the halls of Hogwarts, it had to be him. He thought Fred and George did something to me. When I tell you, he was about to kill them."  
"That really sounds like him. But the whole story sounds like something straight out of a romantic comedy. Are you sure you don’t have a thing for George?"

Frieda stopped in her tracks. There was really no point in denying it. She figured that she could tell Ollie. 

"Okay, but you can’t tell anybody."  
"Tell them what exactly?," Ollie teased.   
"Merlin, that I might like George Weasley a little too much. Happy now?"  
"Very much. And what are you gonna do now?"  
"Have you gone mental? Nothing of course."  
"But why?"

"Are you actually asking why right now? Firstly, there is no chance that he will like me back. He dated Alicia Spinnet for heaven’s sake and the two of us have nothing in common."

"And secondly?"  
"Evie would never in a million years accept if I dated a Weasley. Also my brother might be a hurdle as well."  
"That’s only three reasons. The first is just in your head. He’s not shallow, Frieda. Are you actually worried that he won’t like you?"  
"Have you seen the girls who are after him? There’s Heather Mancini for example. She’s a Gyffindor, like them, she is super beautiful and a year older than me. Against her, I stand no chance."

"I know Heather and even though she is everything you described her as, George doesn’t like her."  
"And how do you know?"  
"I know because he likes you. Do any of you have a pair of working eyes?" Ollie dramatically threw his head back and let out a sigh. 

"Sometimes I think I’m the only one with common sense in this school."  
"What are you even talking about?"  
"If you would pay less attention to your insecurities and more to him you would see the way he looks at you. He is hearteyes on legs. Trust me, he’s into you"

As much as she wanted to believe her friend, Frieda could not see past the fact that nobody has ever wanted her and that she could not imagine that to ever happen. 

"Ollie, as much as I appreciate you supporting me, I don’t want to get my hopes up just to be let down again."  
"I know you’ve made some bad experiences but you can’t let that hold you back. Maybe you just have to get out of your comfort zone and talk to him about it."

"Okay, now you’re actually being ridiculous. I just fixed everything so I can be friends with him and I am not going to ruin it over a stupid crush."

"What crush?," someone said behind them. They both jumped because of the sudden interruption. It was Evie who now was curiously staring at her friends. 

"Frieda has a crush on Longbottom," Ollie said without hesitation which earned him a kick to his ankles.   
"Weird but accessible. I like that. You should ask him to the Yule Ball."

Frieda looked at Evie and then at Ollie but he also had no idea what she was talking about.   
"Do you live under a rock? Everybody’s talking about it right now. We’re gonna have a ball at Hogwarts with dancing and gowns and everything. The whole school is looking for a date right now, well everyone who’s a year four and up."

"That sounds amazing! Who are you going with then?"  
"Not with you Ollie, if that’s what you were trying with this."  
Ollie scoffed "As if I wanted to go with you. I have plenty of people I could ask."  
"Yeah right. I’d love to see that."

Frieda stared angrily at Ollie. Now she had to explain to Evie that she in fact did not want to go to the Yule Ball with Neville Longbottom. She was not completely repulsed at the idea. But all she wanted was for George to ask her. 

"Who is Cedric going to ask? I’m sure there’s so many girls who want to go with him. Do you think he already asked someone?," Evie pondered.   
"I don’t know. But if you really want to go with him, you could ask him," Frieda suggested.   
"Do you think I can do that? But what if he already has got a date?"  
"Just ask him and you’ll know."

"Okay, but when you are allowed to go with Cedric," when Ollie said his name he pulled a disgusted face "then Frieda is allowed to go with George."   
Frieda kicked him for a second time. 

"Why would she do that?"  
"I don’t know. It was just a thought. Because if it would happen, you couldn’t say no, since I’m allowing you to be with Cedric."  
"What are you on about Knight? I thought she liked Longbottom. And besides, why do you need to allow me to go out with someone?"  
Now Frieda understood where Ollie was going with this. 

"Well, since you felt betrayed because Frieda was hanging out with your enemies, I should also be able to have a say in whether you can spend time with my enemy."  
Technically he was right. But Evie was not having any of it. 

"Your enemy? Does he even know you exist? And besides, Frieda is on my side now. She said that I’m more important than them. So she would never do that to me. Isn’t that right?" 

Frieda nodded mindlessly. What did she get herself into? Now she had to go with Neville.   
"Anyways," Evie said "I have to get going now. My study buddy is waiting."  
Ollie laughed "Since when do you have a study buddy?"

"Well, since you two abandoned me, I had to get help somewhere else. I can’t fail all of my classes because of a fight."

This was the problem with Evie. From her perspective, anytime Ollie and Frieda did not hang out with her was like betrayal. And when she was literally the one who started the fight, she thought that her friends abandoned her. She had a totally warped perception of reality sometimes. 

"Okay, see you tomorrow then. And remember your Potions assignment!"   
And with that, Evie was gone. 

"So you’re seriously gonna go with Longbottom then? You have to tell her Frieda. She will find out one way or another."  
"Consider this. Isn’t this the best solution? George is not gonna ask me anyways so why waste my time with finding strategies to convince Evie? Maybe Neville will go with me and then I’m through with the Weasleys."

"Through with us? Why would you want that?," Fred asked from behind them.   
"I swear to Merlin, if we get interrupted one more time to day I’m gonna freak out."  
"Sorry Knight but can we talk to Frieda for a second... alone?"

Ollie smirked "Well I would love nothing more than that. Bye then." He did not leave without giving Frieda a cheeky wink. She rolled her eyes. 

"Soooo?," she asked with anticipation. Secretly she hoped that George would ask her to the ball. But that did not happen. 

"Can you help me with something?," Fred asked.   
"Of course."   
"George told me that you have muggle flowers."

Frieda’s eyes widened. When George noticed her tensing up he fell in "I didn’t tell him everything. Only about the flowers. He wants to give them to Angelina."  
"Do you want to ask her to the ball?"  
Fred nodded. 

"Well the only flowers I have are chamomile and they are not exactly pretty. But if you want something else, I can look in my room if there’s seeds for it. I can make them grow pretty fast when I put a spell on them."

"That would be amazing. Thank you so much. If you ever need a favor, I’m your man."  
"No problem. I’ll get behind it right after my assignment. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Fred looked at George reassuringly. But he did not say anything.   
"I guess not then. If you want your flowers you can meet me around three by the black lake and I’ll give them to you," Frieda said to Fred.   
"Alright. See you later then."


	13. I am going to kill that bastard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING  
> In this chapter there are several mentions of symptoms of an axiety disorder. Nothing too graphic or heavy but if you’re not in the mood for it, you probably should not read it.

Later that afternoon Frieda managed to grow some roses for Fred. He was already waiting by the black lake when she arrived there. 

"Here you go. Fresh out of my greenhouse."  
"Frieda, you’re my hero. I’m asking her tonight. Do you think she’ll say yes?"  
"Is this nervousness I’m sensing? Could it really be true that the infamous Fred Weasley is scared of rejection?"

Fred chuckled "Maybe a tiny bit. You don’t do this everyday. But what about you? Do you already have a date?," he asked cautiously.  
"Not exactly. I’m thinking of asking Neville."  
Fred stared at Frieda in disbelief "Do you mean that little Longbottom fella from year four? The Herbology boy?"  
"Yes that’s him. But I’m not sure if he’ll say yes though. I’m not exactly the most wanted girl at this school so I’ll see how looking for a date will go."

He shook his head. "That’s not true. Maybe the ones who like you are just too scared to admit it."  
"Yeah right. And tomorrow he who must not be named is coming back. Fred, I’m not you who can have practically anyone at the school. So I would really appreciate if y’all would stop getting my hopes up so much."  
"Y’all?," Fred questioned. 

"Yes, you, Ollie and Evie are all doing the thing where you forget that I’m not generally well liked or conventionally attractive. You all forget that I can’t go around asking anyone if they want to go out with me."

"Frieda, I think you’re highly underestimating yourself there. But if you insist."  
"Yes, I insist. But thank you anyways."  
The two parted ways after a catching up a bit.  
Why was everybody so persistent on the idea that someone might like her? Whether it being George or Neville the likelihood of either one saying yes was very small. So she should probably just wait until someone asks her or go on her own. That was honestly the only option she deemed realistic at that moment. 

Frieda went to the Hufflepuff common room in order to get to her meet up with Ollie. When she arrived there, she was greeted by a beaming boy. "What happened to you Mr Knight? Good news?"  
"The best actually. I got a Yule Ball date before Evie."  
"You do know that it’s not a competition right? But I’m still curious. Who is it?"

"You’ll never believe me. It’s Fleur. You know, the Beauxbatons Champion."  
"You’re joking, right? That’s amazing! How did you manage to ask her? I heard the wildest stories about her rejecting everyone who would dare to ask. Poor Ron Weasley is traumatized."

Ollie seemed to be just as surprised as Frieda because he answered "I honestly don’t know. I just told her that I wanted to go with her to get to know her because she seems like a nice person. Maybe it was because I’m the only one who isn’t drooling over her."  
"Doesn’t matter really. I’m very happy for you."

"Thanks. I have to tell you something else though. I invited Evie over to study with us. She sounded so sad today when she talked about her study buddy so I thought she might get a little nicer if we included her more again."  
"That’s a good idea actually. When will she be here?"

That question was unnecessary because right after, Evie stormed into the common room. Of course she knew how to get in since she spent more time in there than in her own.  
"You won’t believe who Cedric is taking to the Yule Ball!," she shouted before even saying hello to her friends. 

"Guess we’ll find out in a few seconds," Ollie muttered. "He’s taking fucking Cho Chang. Including me, there’s literally four Asians at this school and he chose Cho Chang? Is he being serious right now?"  
"What do we have against Cho now?," Ollie asked. 

"Have you seen her? She’s average at best."  
If there was one thing Frieda could not stand, it was bringing other girls down because of a boy.  
"Evie, I know that you’re upset because you really wanted to go with him. But gossiping about Cho is not the solution here. She did nothing wrong and it’s not her fault that Cedric chose her."

Evie sighed and in order to keep the peace she said "Yeah, you’re right sorry. Let’s get to studying then."  
"Wait, before we start, I have to tell you something." 

Frieda knew exactly what Ollie wanted to say. But the pure stupidity of him actually wanting to rub in that he had a date and Evie did not kind of baffled her. She gave him the dirtiest look she could so he would realize what he was going to do.  
"Actually, it can wait," he said not wanting to be met with the anger of Frieda. 

The trio was studying like in old times. They were laughing and chatting about their last week and how embarrassing everybody behaved because of the ball even though they were exactly the same. 

When they were finished Frieda was a little sad. They were not that happy together in a long time and it made her forget about her red haired problem for a while. Until Evie brought her back to reality. 

"So, are you going to ask Longbottom then?"  
Frieda went tense all of a sudden.  
"No, I don’t think so. If nobody asks me I’ll just go alone. It’s not a big deal really."  
"Okay. But I’m sure he’ll say yes. I don’t think any other girl would ask him, so why not give it a shot?"

"Are you being serious right now? I’m not asking him because he is an easy target. If I'd ask him it would be because I actually like him as a person."  
"Easy there. You really like him? Maybe I can arrange something for you."  
"No don’t bother. It’s okay."

"I mean you have to take someone on an actual date if you don’t want to go on your own. All of your male friends already have a date."  
Frieda looked at Evie asking her silently what she was talking about.  
"Well, Fred is going with Angelina Jonson, George will take Heather Mancini and Ollie got himself a Champion."  
"How do you know that?," Ollie asked. 

Frieda fell silent. So she was right. George really liked somebody else. And of course it was Heather. She was beautiful and nice and anything a boy could dream of. Frieda could not lie, she was mad jealous. But the more dominant feeling was pain. Sudden jolts of sharp stabs went through her chest. It felt a bit like a mild heart attack. She had this quite frequently whenever something so bad happened that her body did not know how to cope with it in another way. 

The first time it happened Frieda thought that she was going to die. It was when her brother got badly injured during a Quidditch match. The moment she saw him fall her chest started hurting along with her heartbeat rising. She seriously believed that she was suffering from a heart disease before understanding that it was because she was so scared. Sometimes during very bad times she could not fall asleep at night because she was laying awake in bed being scared of dying from a heart attack. 

"Frieda? Is everything alright?," Ollie asked when he noticed his friend getting more quite.  
"Yeah I’m good. Just... excuse me." She stood up and went right towards her greenhouse. 

When she reached it the only thing she could do was to burry her face in her sofa pillow and cry. She must have stayed in this position for quite a while because when she snapped out of it, it was already dark outside. But she did not snap out of it on her own. It was her brother storming in. 

"I am going to kill that bastard. Frieda, are you alright?," with his second sentence Emil's speech became softer.  
"Not really. How do you know?"  
"I was talking to Ollie and he mentioned what happened. So I figured I'd look after you. Can I do something for you?"  
"No, thank you," Frieda said in between sniffs. 

"How could he do this to you? I’ll teach that motherfucker a lesson."  
"No, don’t. It’s not George's fault."  
"Really? And whose is it then?"  
"It’s mine."  
"But how?"

"Haven’t you seen me? I‘m pathetic. If I didn’t have this stupid tea I would..." Frieda stopped herself before she could reveal too much about herself. "You would do what?,"her brother asked resting one hand on her shoulder. 

"See, if I didn’t have this I would always be scared. And not just like a little nervous. I would literally be scared to death." Emil did not really know how to answer. He was not even sure if he fully understood what she meant by that "But of what Frieda? If someone’s causing you trouble I could..." "No, no not like that." At this point tears were streaming down the younger sibling‘s face. 

"Sometimes I‘m not even sure what I‘m scared of myself. Sometimes it’s classes, sometimes it’s going to my dorm because I can’t talk to the other girls there. Sometimes it’s writing to our parents even if there’s nothing wrong. I’m terrified just in case something bad could happen. Sometimes it’s thinking about you, Ollie and Evie on that Quidditch field. Sometimes it’s doing my potions homework because then I have to think about Snape. And just thinking about him makes me short of breath. And sometimes... sometimes it’s thinking about the fact that I have feelings for somebody who will never feel the same for me because I‘m not enough. I‘m not pretty like Heather or witty like Evie or brave like Ollie or smart like you. I’m nothing. Just pathetic." 

At first Emil did not know how to react until he finally said "Are you kidding me?" "What?" "Are you fucking kidding me? You are the coolest and smartest girl I know. If I ever need any help, you are always there for me. You know absolutely everything. Whenever I have a question, you give me the answer. If you could take the N.E.W.T.s already you would pass them. And the fact that you are scared sometimes doesn’t make these qualities worth any less." 

"But..." "No. You know what, the sheer amount of bravery it takes to be the person you are despite being this afraid of things is unmeasurable. You are so much stronger than you think you are. And I can’t imagine that George can see past that. He is not stupid. Even though it sometimes looks like it." They were both laughing for the first time that day. 

"Thanks Emil. And you know, if he really wants to go with Heather then he is free to do so. I’m gonna have fun either way." "That’s the spirit!" 

A few minutes passed before Emil picked up the topic of the Yule ball again. "Do you maybe know who Ollie is taking?" Frieda let out a surprised chuckle "Hasn’t he told you? He’s taking Fleur. You know, that pretty girl from Beauxbatons." Her older brother looked at her in disbelief. "Oh...," he said disappointed. "But I don’t think he actually likes her. He’s just taking her because he wanted to be faster than Evie. Why are you asking?"  
"Just curiosity."

The siblings were making their way to the great hall together. Emil was protectively walking in front of his sister.  
When they were sat at their respective tables he did not turn away from her. Instead, he glared at anyone getting too close to her. Well, anyone besides Ollie. 

He looked at Emil from afar. "So, I can see that you two had a talk. Sorry for telling him but I was worried about you."  
"It’s okay. I’m just scared that he might actually kill George for real this time."

Almost at cue, the redhead walked in. But he was not alone. On his right side walked Heather holding his hand. That was it. Frieda stood up from her place at the table. But her storming out did not go as planned as George stopped her.

"Hey Frieda." "Hi..." "So, how are things going with Neville?" She looked at him confused. What did Fred tell him? "I really don’t know what you’re on about."  
"You know, because he’s your Yule Ball date."  
"I don’t have a date, George. But congrats on yours. If you excuse me now, I have stuff to do."

Frieda mostly ran out so quickly because of her brother who was already on his way. She wanted to save everyone the trouble. The only thing she was interested in doing that night, was sleeping and crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone interested, I also made a playlist 
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4J5X2K0uBEOgTrACn86Uf5?si=mSIWDHWkTWKL4yzZwI1XTg


End file.
